Seton Hall went into last night’s game against Georgetown facing the prospects of a daunting team, a 10-game Big East losing streak and its worst in-league start in 17 years. What the Pirates came out with was the kind of convincing victory upon which they can build.

Seton Hall’s inconsistent defense disrupted the Hoyas and star forward Mike Sweetney. The Pirates’ sputtering offense shredded one of the country’s best defenses. And, in the end, they snapped their slide with a 68-54 win that was their best of the season.

“When they made their run, we made shots. We made plays. We played like men,” said coach Louis Orr, whose naturally stooped shoulders must seem lighter after this win.

“It’s a good feeling for our guys. Nothing happens overnight. This is something we’ve been working at. Sometimes you don’t get the fruits of your labor. Tonight was one of those games where we got the fruits of our labor because we kept our poise and made plays down the stretch.”

Shooting guard John Allen went back to driving the ball to the hoop and had 27 points and eight rebounds. Point guard Andre Barrett played every second, adding 16 points, five assists and vital floor leadership against what was supposed to be a tough Hoya team. Tough to watch was about it.

“It was a very big win, a great confidence booster,” said forward Marcus Toney-El. “We needed it. We know we’re a very good team. It was just a matter of when it would all come together.”

The Hall (6-7, 1-3) had lost nine straight league games dating back to a win at lowly West Virginia last Feb. 9. The Pirates were 0-3 in-league for the first time since 1993-94, and a loss would’ve matched their worst conference start since 1985-86. It wasn’t such a far-fetched notion.

Georgetown (9-3, 1-1) led in the second half at No. 1 Duke last Wednesday, and Sweetney was in the top four in the league in scoring, shooting, rebounding and blocks. He had, to put it mildly, dominated.

But it was the Hall that dominated the Hoyas last night. The lowest-scoring team in the Big East shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the first half. The worst field-goal defense in the league held Georgetown to 32.2 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers.

Sweetney had 22 points, but the rest of the Hoyas combined for just 32 on horrid 11-of-38 shooting. Barrett and Allen outscored Georgetown’s starting backcourt 43-8.

After Victor Samnick’s free throws left the Hoyas down 17-16 with 9:45 left in the first half, the Pirates went on a 10-3 run. Despite a season-long slump from beyond the arc, they pushed that spurt to 22-8 over the next 8:13.

Barrett hit three 3-pointers in that run, then split a double-team to find freshman center Kelly Whitney (13 points) for a dunk and a 39-24 lead just before halftime.

The Hoyas tossed their man-to-man defense for a 2-3 zone, but nothing worked. After scoring just seven in the first half, Sweetney had 15 in the second to cut the lead to 50-44 with 8:59 left, but they got no closer.

“It was good to get a win,” Allen said. “We just have to keep this going, practice even harder, and take this into Miami and step to them first like we did to Georgetown.”